Leveling the Playing Field

John Um wanted to make sure small business owners could get fair pricing and access to reliable suppliers without needing to have significant buying power. As a leader whose career spanned several major retail and e-commerce companies, he had seen firsthand how hard...

Staying Fierce: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit in Vended Laundry

Haley Gould is the Director of Partner Success for HappyNest. She manages an internal team while leading more than 100 partners across the United States building a successful pickup and delivery operation in addition to running their laundromat business. A consummate...

Metrics That Matter

Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry The laundromat business is like most businesses in that you need to do a lot of things right to be successful. But how do you know if it’s working? According to successful owners, you just need to look at the...

Startup to Scale

How Western State Design Has Been Helping Laundry Businesses Thrive for More Than 50 Years For more than five decades, Western State Design has been a leading provider of turnkey laundry solutions across the vended, on-premises, and commercial/industrial markets....

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The Importance of an Employee Handbook

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - Aug issue/2012 Every business – and a self-service laundry is no exception – requires an employee handbook. After all, you've likely spent (or plan to spend) hundreds of thousands of dollars purchasing and/or building a new laundromat. So why in...

An Ounce of Prevention

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - Feb 03, 2014 Washers and dryers are the heart and soul of any self-service laundry business. They are your bread and butter. They are what drive paying customers through your doors. So, why are so many laundromats still inundated with out-of-order...

Paying with Plastic

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - Feb 27, 2012 One of the most exciting new developments in the self-service laundry industry is the concept of credit card acceptance for laundry services. Recently, many companies, both old and new, have announced products to help the laundry owner...

Headlines

It’s Not About You, Tom

An Interview with CLA Member of the Year Tom Rhodes At Clean 2015 in Atlanta this past spring, second-generation, multi-store owner Tom Rhodes was presented with the Coin Laundry Association's Member of the Year award. As a member of the CLA Board of the Directors, as...

Earlybird Laundromat

Curtis Berger Earlybird Laundromat Teaneck, N.J. Before Getting into the Laundry Business… Curtis earned a CPA from Villanova University and worked in mortgage-backed securities in New York City until he decided to move to New Jersey and open a laundromat. Store...

Finding Your Comforter Zone

The Finer Points of Washing, Drying and Processing Comforters For the next few months, my store will be inundated with customers bringing us their comforters to wash. Comforter cleaning has grown to become a sizable segment of my operation, and it can be a hugely...

CLA: Milestones and Memories

55 Years in the Life of the Coin Laundry Association This year marks the 55th anniversary of the Coin Laundry Association. To help commemorate the occasion, we've created an industry timeline to help showcase just a few of the many industry and organizational...

Pew Research Report: Smartphone Ownership at 68% Among U.S. Adults

Today, 68 percent of U.S. adults have a smartphone, up from 35 percent in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45 percent among adults, according to newly released survey data from the Pew Research Center. According to the research, smartphone ownership...

Small-Business Survey: Owners Share Leading Concerns Heading into 2016

Business Climate, Federal Deficit and Taxes Top the List of Key Issues Sixty-three percent of small-business owners think the country is on the wrong track. In addition, 67 percent rate the business climate fair or poor. And nearly two-thirds are very concerned about...

WASH Laundry Names District Sales Manager

Pete Aronchick Jr. to Cover San Fernando Valley Market WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems has promoted Pete Aronchick Jr. to district sales manager for the San Fernando Valley in southern California. In his new position, Aronchick will service current WASH customers...

WASH Laundry Names District Sales Manager

Mike Hatchell Rejoins Company to Oversee Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana Markets WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems has announced that Mike Hatchell has returned to the company as a district sales manager for the Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana regions. In his new role,...

Continental Announces Two New Distributor Partnerships

Manufacturer Teams Up with Commercial Laundry Systems of the Rockies, T & L Equipment Co. Continental Girbau Inc. has announced new partnerships with two vended laundry distributors - Commercial Laundry Systems of the Rockies in Johnstown, Colo., and T&L...

Huebsch Honors Store Owner of the Quarter

Manufacturer Salutes Texas Multi-Store Owner Scott Abraham Huebsch has named Scott Abraham the latest recipient of its Store Owner of the Quarter Award for his two successful laundromats, Northside Coin Laundry and Saginaw Laundry Center, located in the greater Dallas...

WASH Laundry Announces New Sales Manager for Arizona

John Krause Relocates to Oversee Southwestern Market WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems recently announced that John Krause is relocating to Arizona to become the company's district sales manager in that state. With a strong background in sales and customer service,...

Maytag Honors Robert Small

Company Salutes Senior Manager of Global Commercial Customer Relations for 25 Years of Dedicated Service Maytag Commercial Laundry recently recognized Robert Small - the company's senior manager of global commercial customer relations - for 25 years of dedicated...

This Month's Issue

Green is Good Business: Green Operations Increasingly Important to Feed Consumer Demand
Women In Laundry: Lee Ann Geurts Loves a Challenge
Store Profile: Kings Laundry Kicking it in Los Angeles
Untapped Growth Opportunities
And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

LaundryCares Adds Industry Veteran

The LaundryCares Foundation recently announced that laundry industry veteran Dan Naumann has agreed to join the organization as its executive vice president. His responsibilities extend to the day-to-day operation of the foundation, as well as working to scale up...

‘Ready,’ Set… Read!

LaundryCares Partnership with ReadyNation Leads to Growing Number of Laundromat Reading Programs Across the Country The recent launching of a reading corner at Foxy Lady Laundry in Miami is a prime example of the strong and growing partnership between the Coin Laundry...

CLEC Names General Manager of Houston Office

Commercial and Coin Laundry Equipment Co. has hired industry veteran Mike Hand to be the general manager of the company's CLEC-West facility, located in Houston. "Mike's experience in the laundry industry and track record of success in leading projects makes him the...

EnviroStar to Acquire Industrial Laundry Services

EnviroStar, Inc. has announced that it executed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets and to assume certain liabilities of Industrial Laundry Services, Inc., using a combination of cash and EVI stock. Industrial Laundry Services,...

Masters Laundry Equipment to Hold Profitability Seminar

Masters Laundry Equipment recently announced that it will hold a profitability seminar on October 24 at Laundrylux's headquarters in Inwood, N.Y. This one-day event will be presented by Masters Laundry owner Michael Mastorides, who will teach attendees how to create...